The Douglas Report Part 1: Do Fish Bite

Part 1

I have just returned to "the Cradle of Civilization" (thanks Karen for being my Kingston pundit) after three days in a cabin on a reservoir in Douglas, Massachusetts, not too far from Worcester, and pretty much in the middle of nothing. The town is quaint, and there are no chain stores to be found.

The cabin was in the woods, with a driveway-width path that led to the reservoir, which had its own private dock and beach. The cabin was rustic and charming, replete with the biggest bathtub I have ever seen (the lake) and a fully functioning two seater privy. (oh so much more in the privy later)

I did not write one blog, (save for take a few notes), make one painting (OK I messed with a few photos in Photoshop) or even crack the binding of a book.

What did I do? Eat, drink, rest, sun, shop, and live languidly in a 75 year old cabin. Easy camping was what my girlfriend told me. And that it was.

As soon as we opened up the cabin, the initial whiff of mothballs sent me reeling back to my childhood, where for 19 years of my life I periodically vacationed in my father's family's cabin, a refurbished 1930's gas station. It however, did have running water. It was a small red cabin, a stones throw from the Esopus Creek.

I could write a book on my memories of that cabin, and perhaps someday I will write a short story, but memories came flooding with one whiff of moth balls.

There were many adventures and stories that I will eventually tell.

But to answer the question: Do fish bite?, the answer is MOST CERTAINLY.

The fish that nibbled on my feet, bumped into my legs, and then SNAPPED at the strings on my bikini top were from 3-12" or so long. I heard that they bit the nipple of one of the neighbors and for that very reason I did not go skinny dipping, and took to wrapping the string of my bathing suit back around my neck like a choker.

Do you blame me?

I have to work tomorrow, otherwise more stories would be told. A few pictures to back up my fish story.......and it is all true.

Painter, mixed media artist/designer and teacher, I am middle aged but not middle of the road. I live life with passion, and experience it in all its joys and sorrows. I live for my art and connecting with the beauty of the landscape, the arts, and the love of the people in my life. What an incredible honor it is to make such a journey.